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USPSTF Finds Evidence Lacking for Glaucoma Screening

USPSTF Finds Evidence Lacking for Glaucoma Screening

(HealthDay News) – The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has found that there is currently insufficient evidence to weigh the benefits and harms of screening for primary open-angle glaucoma among adults without vision symptoms, according to a Recommendation Statement published online July 9 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Virginia A. Moyer, MD, MPH, and colleagues from the USPSTF in Rockville, MD, conducted a systematic literature review to update the 2004 recommendation statement on screening for glaucoma. They examined beneficial outcomes, including improved vision-related quality of life and reduced progression of early asymptomatic glaucoma to vision-related impairment. Evidence was also considered relating to the accuracy of glaucoma screening tests.

The Task Force determined that, for adults who do not have vision symptoms and who are seen in a primary care setting, the current evidence was insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of primary open-angle glaucoma screening (I statement).

"Glaucoma is a serious disease that can cause vision problems and blindness in millions of Americans," Task Force co-vice chairman Albert Siu, MD, MSPH, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we don't have enough evidence to know how best to screen for the disease and who would benefit from screening in the primary care setting."